Meet the Family
by seetherrayne
Summary: (When Did Boys Become More Important Than a Star Wars Marathon?) "Are we sure this is a good idea?" "Stiles, it's a dinner meeting her boyfriend. I think it'll be okay." "Yeah, and a lot of things that are supposed to be okay turn to complete shit in our lives. You do remember that, right?" "Yes," Lydia said, her mouth full of toothpaste. "I'm aware."


**I wrote this for Stydia-fanfiction on tumblr! I sort of tied it into the We Were Built to Fall Apart, but you don't have to read that to understand it.**

* * *

"Stiles, can you get the lasagna out of the oven?"

"Yeah, grab the plates?"

Lydia took the plates from him, taking them to the table and setting them out. "Go ahead and bring it in here, okay?"

"Great minds," he said, bringing the dish to the table and setting it down. He leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek before heading back to the kitchen. "I'll grab the salad."

Lydia heard the door open and couldn't help the smile on her face as she made her way to the front. Her daughter's chestnut hair was pulled back into a ponytail out of her face, and Lydia could see the light in her hazel eyes as she put her bag down in the foyer.

"Hey, Mom," she said, a grin on her face when she spotted her mother.

"Hey, sweetheart," Lydia said, pulling her into a hug. "How's school?"

"About the same as last weekend," she admitted with a small laugh. "Difficult and soul-crushing."

Lydia rolled her eyes at her daughter's sarcasm. It was pretty impossible to avoid considering her parents. "Come on, dinner's ready."

"Great, I'm starving."

They went to the dining room, where Stiles was placing the garlic bread on the table. "Hey, sweetie!"

He pulled her into his arms and squeezed, burying his face in her hair. Lydia couldn't help the way her heart melted. Stiles had been attached to Alicia from the moment he first held her, and the fact that she had been at college for two years now hadn't changed that. Luckily she had decided to go to Stanford, so she was able to come home nearly every weekend.

Lydia could barely handle her husband when Alicia couldn't make it.

"Dad," she finally said, her voice muffled from being buried in his chest. "I kind of need to breathe."

"Sorry," he said, letting her out of the hug. "I just missed you and your beautiful face."

"I missed you, too," she told him, jumping onto her toes and kissing his cheek. "But I'm starving, so let's eat."

"So how were classes this week?" Stiles asked as they sat down. "Any less difficult and soul-crushing?"

"More," she admitted wryly. "But at least it's the beginning of Spring Break and I don't have to worry."

"Well, how about a Star Wars marathon tomorrow to take your mind off of it?" he asked, passing her the salad.

"Actually," Alicia said hesitantly, which immediately peaked Lydia's curiosity. Their daughter never turned down a Star Wars marathon, even during Finals week. "I was kind of thinking we could do something different."

Stiles' eyes narrowed in suspicion, glancing at Lydia before addressing Alicia. "Are you – is my own daughter seriously turning down Star Wars? The same girl who alternated as Rey, Leia, and Padme for Halloween her entire childhood? You're turning down a Star Wars marathon with your old man?"

"No! That's not it at all," she insisted. "We're still totally doing that."

"Then what are you wanting to do tomorrow?" Lydia asked, curious.

"Well," Alicia started, picking at the lasagna at her plate. "Do you remember that Ben guy that I've been talking to?"

"Yes…" Lydia said. "What about him?"

"Things are getting pretty serious," she continued. "And he's driving through Beacon Hills tomorrow on his way home, and he said that he has time to stop by and meet you guys if you wanted. Have dinner or something."

"How serious?" Stiles asked, his eyes narrowed even further. Lydia rolled her eyes at him. She knew that he was going over every possible scenario that the situation could go badly, both normal and supernatural.

"I can kinda see spending the rest of my life with him," Alicia admitted, a blush making its way up her face.

"Like, tell him about what goes bump in the night and have him be Pack, rest of your life?" Lydia asked. Alicia had dated guys before, but this would definitely be a first.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"You haven't told him yet, though, right?" Stiles asked. "Because we need to make sure Scott is okay with that, and if this guy if even trustworthy – "

"He's definitely trustworthy!" Alicia retorted. "But no, I haven't told him yet. We're not _that_ serious yet. But it's definitely getting there. Besides, I doubt he'd believe me without actually seeing a werewolf, so…"

"We could always have your mom scream," he suggested with a grin. Lydia rolled her eyes again, smacking his arm.

"So can he come by?" she asked, her expression hopeful as she looked between her parents.

Lydia looked at Stiles, who tilted his head ever so slightly. "Of course he can. We would love to meet him. Your father will even cook out."

"Awesome!" Alicia said. "I'll let him know."

''''''''''

"Are we sure this is a good idea?"

"Stiles, it's a dinner meeting her boyfriend. I think it'll be okay."

"Yeah, and a lot of things that are supposed to be okay turn to complete shit in our lives. You do remember that, right?"

"Yes," Lydia said, her mouth full of toothpaste. "I'm aware."

He knew that she didn't really need reminding. Too much had happened in their lives. Too much loss. It was the reason that she had asked him to wait until they were away from Beacon Hills to have any more children. The miscarriage of their first daughter had almost destroyed them. They had gotten away when they had Alicia, but they got pulled back in when his dad had gotten injured in the line of duty. Melissa had insisted that she could take care of him, but Stiles couldn't stand to be away from his dad while he was going through physical therapy. So they moved back and had stayed ever since.

Lydia rinsed her mouth before making her way back into the bedroom. "You have to remember that Alicia is one area where things tend to stay okay."

"Exactly," he countered, flopping down onto the bed. "So we're due from something on that front, right?"

"You're impossible," she told him, the smile on her face contradicting the exasperation in her tone. "Get up, I would like to be able to get under the blankets."

With a sigh, he stood back up and helped her get the bed ready. "I'm just saying, we need to be wary."

"I realize that," she said. "But don't go looking for something, either. We haven't even met the guy yet. Besides, I thought we had agreed to not go the antiquated over-protective father route when it came to parenting?"

"Fine," he surrendered as they climbed back into bed. "But if I sense even just a little bit of evil from this guy, he's gone."

''''''''''

Stiles opened the door to find a boy about Alicia's age, with dark curly hair and dimples that could melt the coldest of hearts.

Fuck, this was going to be hard.

"Hi," the boy said, glancing back at all the cars on the street. "I'm Ben. Alicia told me this was the address, but I wasn't sure…"

"This would be the Stilinski residence!" Stiles greeted. "Come right on in."

"Thank you," he said, stepping into the foyer. "Alicia didn't mention that this was a party…"

"That's because I didn't know," she interrupted, appearing at the doorway to the living room. She gave her dad a pointed look before smiling at Ben. "But that's okay. You get to meet the family in one fell swoop."

"Great!" Ben said, grinning at her like a love-struck fool. Alicia took his hand and led him to the kitchen.

Stiles wasn't sensing any evilness in the boy, but there was still time.

He followed the pair into the kitchen, where Alicia introduced him to Lydia and Derek. Ben seemed a little nervous as he shook Derek's hand, and Stiles couldn't help the smug satisfaction that the boy was intimidated. Even after all these years, Derek was still a very broad, muscular guy, and tended to intimidate a lot of people.

Damn werewolf genetics.

"So," Lydia asked. "What are you majoring in?"

"Pre-med," Ben told her. "We actually met in Biology class."

Lydia raised her eyebrows, obviously impressed. "You want to be a doctor?"

"That's the plan," he said, smiling humbly.

"You have a specific medical field that you want to go into?" Derek asked as he resumed cutting tomatoes for the burgers.

"Pediatric oncology," Ben answered.

"That's a pretty difficult job," Lydia told him. "You sure you're up for it?"

"Yeah, I think I am," he said.

"Good," she nodded.

"I think he is, too," Alicia said, smiling up at him. "But come on, Ben. There's more people for you to meet."

Alicia led him out into the backyard, where the rest of the Pack was hanging out.

"I like him," Lydia said, a smile on her face.

"You just met him," Stiles countered. "How can you already like him?"

"Because he seems sweet," she said. "And it takes a very special person to want to treat kids with cancer, Stiles. That's definitely a good sign to me."

"I don't know," Stiles said, bring his thumb up to his mouth. "He seems too perfect to me."

"Are you sensing any evil off of him?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Not yet," he admitted. "But there's still time."

She rolled her eyes and picked up the platter of burgers she was preparing. "I'm gonna take these to Scott."

She went onto the back porch, leaving Stiles to sulk.

"Why are you so against this?" Derek asked, setting the tomatoes on a platter. "You've never been like this with her other boyfriends."

"Yeah, but she was never seriously considering spending the rest of her life with those guys," Stiles muttered, drawing random patterns on the table.

"But she is with him," Derek said, nodding in understanding. "So that means that it isn't just about her, but about the Pack."

"Yeah," Stiles admitted. "I just…It's not that I don't trust my daughter's judgement, I do. But we've been burned before letting people in, and I guess I'm just gun-shy."

Derek was silent for a moment before responding. "I get it, I do."

"Not really," Stiles said wryly. "Talia married Kyle. Not exactly incorporating a new person into the Pack."

"True," he conceded. "I guess marrying the Alpha's son doesn't really count. But we take a chance every time we let someone new into the pack. We've had a lot more good than bad."

"I just don't want this to turn out bad and have it hurt Alicia," Stiles said. "If she's this serious about him, it's not gonna be pretty if it turns out badly."

"Let's hope it doesn't, then," Derek said.

'''''''''

Ben ran across the yard, throwing the lacrosse ball straight into the net.

"Damn, dude!" Kyle exclaimed, running up to the man. "You're awesome at this!"

"It's nothing," Ben insisted. "I played all throughout school. It's kind of like riding a bike."

"Where'd you go to high school?" Kyle asked as they walked back to the patio.

"Devenford Prep."

"What?" Kyle said. "Dude, we probably played against each other. I was number eleven for Beacon Hills."

Ben stopped, looking at him in shock. " _You're_ the guy who knocked me on my ass more times than I can count?"

"I knocked everybody on their ass," Kyle told him. "You're gonna have to be a little more specific."

"Hey," Kira said, giving them a stern look as they sat down at the table. "There are children here."

"I'm so sorry," Ben said, guilt on his face. "I didn't realize."

"The youngest people here are twelve," Kyle countered. "And I'm pretty sure Malia and Isaac cuss a lot more than that."

"I was actually talking about your child," Kira told him, a smirk on her face. "But you're right."

Kyle laughed as Talia came and sat next to him, her bump clear in the dress she was wearing. "I appreciate the concern, but the baby's heard a lot worse when Talia was trying to fit into her skinny jeans."

She smacked him on the chest before leaning into him. "You don't have to tell on me."

Lydia watched all of this, a smile on her face. Ben had fit in seamlessly with everyone, and she couldn't help but think that her daughter had picked a good one.

"Okay, guys, it's ready!" Scott called out, turning off the grill and bringing the platter to the table. Alicia slid in between Ben and John, kissing her grandfather on the cheek as she sat down.

"So, Ben," Scott said once they were all settled. "You were saying earlier that you wanted to get into pediatric oncology?"

"Yeah," Ben nodded. "It's something I'm really passionate about."

Alicia beamed at him.

"What got you interested in that?" Scott asked, grabbing the potato salad.

"I had Hodgkin's Disease when I was a kid," he admitted. He was very casual about it, which told Lydia that he had been asked that question a lot. "Even before then I always wanted to be a doctor, and when I finally got done with all of the treatment I decided that I wanted to be like the doctors that saved my life."

There was a moment of silence before anyone responded to that.

"Wow," Scott said. "That's…that's kind of amazing."

Ben shrugged. "It's just one of those things. Everyone has that moment that helps them decide what to do with their life, right?"

"Absolutely," John said. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you," Ben said, a smile breaking on his face.

The conversation continued, and Lydia watched the way everyone interacted with Ben. He had seemed to make his way into everyone's hearts already, including her own. She looked over to her husband, who took her hand and squeezed it. It may be slower, but he seemed to be growing on Stiles, too.

She had a feeling that Ben would be staying for a while.

''''''''''

"He seems really nice," Lydia commented as they were getting into bed.

"Yeah," Stiles nodded. "He seems okay."

"Admit it," she said, curling up next to him. "You can't think of one good reason why she shouldn't date him."

"No," he sighed. "He just seems so…"

"Like Scott?" she asked. "Because he reminded me a lot of Scott."

"There's only one Scott, Lydia!" he argued. "It's weird!"

Lydia rolled her eyes, kissing him on the cheek before settling down in bed. "Just go to sleep."

''''''''''

Stiles watched Ben rub his daughter's back as she slept next to him on the couch.

"Do you want anything?" Lydia asked him, sitting in one of the chairs.

"I'm okay for now," Ben said. "Thank you, though. And thank you for letting me hang out here. I know we were supposed to get out of your hair for the evening."

"Don't worry about it," Lydia told him. "You can't help it if one of you gets food poisoning."

"I told her that that turkey had been in there too long," Stiles said, sitting on the other end and gently placing Alicia's feet on his lap. "One day she'll learn."

"Look on the bright side," Lydia said. "We can all watch the ball drop together."

"I haven't watched that in years," Ben admitted.

"Too busy kissing girls at midnight?" Stiles teased him.

"No," Ben said, chuckling. "I usually hung out with my friends during New Year's Eve in high school, and we always thought that it was more fun to go out and set off fireworks."

"You realize that's illegal in California, right?" Stiles asked him, raising his brow.

"We were young and stupid," he defended.

Stiles laughed in response. "I did some stupid things in high school, too, don't worry."

"Like the restraining order?" Lydia asked.

"And the multiple trips to Mexico," Stiles added. "And listening to the police radio and trying to find dead bodies."

"Wait," Ben said, looking between them in disbelief. "Are you saying you actually did all that?"

"I was a stereotypical, rebellious Sheriff's kid," Stiles told him. "At least, that's what it looked like. I usually did it because I was trying to help somebody."

"Well, then your heart was in the right place, then," Ben told him.

Alicia stirred, groaning softly. Before any of them could react, she was up off the couch and running towards the bathroom. Ben went after her, but then there was a slam of the door and he came back into the living room with a defeated look on his face.

"I'll get her some more Sprite," Lydia said, grabbing the glass off of the coffee table and heading to the kitchen.

"I hate that she feels so bad," Ben said with a sigh. "I wish she'd let me help."

"You're helping her by being here," Stiles told him. "But she's never liked people watching her get sick."

"That's what she told me," he nodded. "But one plus side is that I get to spend some time with you and Mrs. Martin."

"Yeah, it is kind of nice," Stiles admitted. He hated to admit it, but it was the truth. Ben had definitely grown on him in the past few months.

Lydia came back in, setting the glass back down on the coffee table. "We're gonna have to get some more Sprite. That's the last of it."

"I can go get some more," Ben offered.

"You don't have to do that," Lydia said. "I can go get it."

"It's not a big deal," he insisted. "I just want to help."

Lydia looked at Stiles, who shrugged.

"Okay," she said, nodding. "But I'll give you some cash for it."

'''''''''

"Where'd Ben go?" Alicia asked, slowly walking back to the couch. "Did he finally leave because I'm so disgusting?"

Stiles rolled his eyes as she laid back down. "He went to go get you some more Sprite."

"He just wanted to get away from my sickness," she insisted. "Who wants to kiss the puking girl at midnight?"

"Sweetie, you're not contagious," Stiles told her, resting a hand on her back. "But I wouldn't count on the midnight kiss either way."

"I don't want him to kiss me," she said. "I'm gross."

"You're not gross, you're sick."

"Whatever," she said, settling into the couch. "This kind of sick is definitely gross."

"Alicia Lorraine," he said, making her look at him. "You may not get your midnight kiss, and yes food poisoning is definitely gross, but that boy loves you and he's not trying to get away from you. He just wants to help you feel better in any way that he can, and at this point it's going and getting you some more Sprite."

"You're defending him?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him as she sat back up. "That's new."

"I like him," Stiles defended. "He's grown on me."

"Meaning you didn't like him at one point," she reminded him.

"I was nervous about him," he admitted. "But when you tell me that you're willing to spend the rest of your life with him and tell him about everything, I have a right to be nervous. Is this the right guy? How is he going to react to that? Is he secretly a hunter who wants to kill us all?"

Alicia laughed at him. "You don't think I was afraid of that, too? Add to the fact that I really care about this guy and wondering if I really want to expose him to all of that danger…it's hard, but I think we can trust him."

"Yeah," Stiles said. "I do, too."

"Now I just need to find out how to tell him," she said with a shrug.

Lydia came into the living room, the look on her face not a good one.

"What's wrong?" Stiles asked, noting her phone in her hand.

"We have a problem," she stated.

"Involving?" he asked.

"The Pack," she clarified. "And Ben."

''''''''''

The Stilinski family made their way into the clinic, heading straight to the back where the Pack was waiting.

"Ben," Alicia called, pushing ahead of them in a random burst of energy.

When they got into the examination room, Ben was sitting in one of the chairs, his face pale as Scott and Derek leaned against the table. Ben didn't even acknowledge Alicia at first, his gaze on the floor with his eyes wide.

"Ben!" she called out again, making her way over to him and sitting next to him. She fussed over him as Lydia made her way over to Scott.

"What happened?" she asked, looking between the two wolves for an explanation.

"We were tracking something," Scott started. "We still aren't completely sure what it was, but it kind of attacked Ben's car. He saw it – and us – and totally freaked out."

"He's fine," Derek assured her. "He wasn't hurt in any way."

"Excuse me," Alicia interrupted, running from the room as fast as she could.

"Is she okay?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Food poisoning," Stiles told them dismissively. "What exactly were you tracking?"

"We don't know," Scott reiterated. "But we're going to go through the bestiary and find it."

"Things aren't always in the bestiary," Lydia reminded them. They had added their fair share to the translated version over the years.

"It's a start," Derek said.

"Can I ask a question?" Ben asked, standing up now. He was still pale, but the fact that he was talking was a good sign.

"Of course," Lydia told him.

"Depends on the question," Derek said at the same time. She glared at him, and he tilted his head at her, shrugging.

"Ask your question," Scott said, interrupting the staring contest. "Then we'll see how well we can answer it."

"Well, you obviously don't know what tried to attack me," he said, beginning to pace. "But what the hell are you guys?"

He gestured towards Scott and Derek, waiting for an explanation. "And how are you all involved in this?"

"It's kind of a long story," Stiles said. "Are you sure you wanna hear it?"

"Hear what?" Alicia asked, coming back into the room. "Just tell him."

Derek looked skeptical, but Lydia looked to Scott to find determination.

"Long story short," Scott said, his eyes glowing. "We're werewolves."

''''''''''

"Let me get this straight," Ben said, an hour later. "Basically everything that goes bump in the night is real, and you guys happen to be some of that?"

"Most of us, yes," Scott confirmed.

Ben nodded and continued. "And you have a…pack that includes not only werewolves, but werecoyotes, humans, and…Banshees?"

"Just the one Banshee," Lydia told him, a small smirk on her face. "That we know of at least."

He turned to Alicia, who sat in the one of the chairs looking miserable. She had thrown up twice during the explanation, and Stiles would've felt bad for bringing her if she hadn't insisted on coming with them.

"And you grew up in this?" he asked her. She nodded, causing him to sigh. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Would you have believed me if I did?" she countered, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Good point," he conceded, sitting down next to her. "This is crazy."

"You don't have to be involved in this," she told him, taking his hand. "Yes, you know about it, but you don't have to be involved."

"Are you involved?" he asked.

"When I'm here," she admitted.

"If you're involved, then I'm involved," he told her. "That's all there is to it."

The clock chimed, and Lydia realized that it was midnight. It was officially a new year. Ben put his arm around Alicia, kissing her forehead gently.

"Was that my New Year's kiss?" she asked, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah," he nodded, giving her a smile of his own. "It'll be better next year, I promise."

''''''''''

"So I know that wolfsbane hurts werewolves," Ben said. "But does silver?"

"Not in our experience," Kyle told him.

"Okay," Ben nodded thoughtfully. "How about the genetics of it? Like, do you know for sure whether or not Hallie is going to be a werewolf?"

Stiles made his way back to the kitchen, leaving Kyle to answer the questions.

It had been a few months since Ben had found out about the supernatural, and he had apparently done the same thing Stiles did, which was a lot of Google searching. Luckily, Ben had more people to ask to confirm or dismiss his research.

"He's still asking questions?" Braeden asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Yep," Stiles nodded. "He just asked about werewolf genes and how you know whether or not Hallie's gonna be a werewolf or not?"

"Did you hear that?" Scott asked his granddaughter in a singsong voice, who was sitting in Kira's lap. "Maybe you can tell him that we just won't know for a while. But we'll still love you no matter what."

"Who knows?" Kira said. "Maybe she'll even be a kitsune."

"That would be awesome, too!" Scott said. Hallie giggled at him, reaching out to grab his face. Her coarse, curly hair was sticking up, considering the fact that it was still pretty short.

All Stiles could do was smile at his best friend. Both him and Derek became absolute mush when it came to Hallie, and as fun as it was to watch Scott coo over her, it was hilarious when Derek did it.

"Give me that beautiful princess!" Derek said, coming in and holding his hands out to her. Kira handed her off to him, getting up to check the ham in the oven. Derek oohed and aahed over her for a moment, tickling her to get her to laugh.

"You know," he said, sitting down next to Scott, who began to make faces at Hallie. "It's actually kind of nice to have a baby around again."

"Especially when we can play with her and give her back to mommy and daddy at the end of the day," Braeden piped up, grinning at them.

"Amen," Stiles said, grabbing a beer from the fridge. "I think I'm gonna stuff my grandkids with as much sugar as possible before sending them back to Alicia. Just to make sure she understands how hyperactive she was."

"Really, Stiles?" Kira asked, closing the oven and turning to him. "Don't you think that seems a little juvenile?"

"Oh, absolutely," he told her. "But you've known me long enough to know that I am completely juvenile."

"I can't argue with that," she said, laughing.

"Can't argue with what?" Lydia asked, coming into the kitchen. "That Kyle is about to throw Ben across the room if it got him to shut up?"

"Is he getting annoyed?" Stiles asked. She simply nodded, and he started towards the living room again. "I'll talk to Ben."

"I'm actually really curious about the science behind this," Ben said.

"I really don't know the science behind it," Kyle admitted.

"Hey, Ben?" Stiles asked. The boy looked at him expectantly, and Stiles jerked his head toward the hall. "Let's talk."

''''''''''

"What's up?"

"I really just wanted to give Kyle a break," Stiles admitted, leading him into this bedroom.

"I'm sorry," Ben said. "I'm just…this is so fascinating. I want to know every detail I can."

"Well, considering I'm the one who compulsively researched everything when we got involved," Stiles told him. "I'm probably the one to talk to."

"So you're like, the info person?" Ben asked.

"Sort of," he shrugged, sitting on the bed. "Derek knows more about pack dynamics because he grew up in it, but I've basically absorbed every detail about the supernatural – what we've found out anyway."

"Alicia's told me a lot," Ben said. "But she couldn't answer all of my questions, so I thought I would ask some of you guys."

"Good plan," Stiles said. "But we still don't know genetics and stuff of the werewolf gene. That would require research, which would require grants, which would probably lead to exposure."

"Gotcha'," Ben said. "Another question I had I don't know if you can answer, either."

"You can try," Stiles told him.

He nodded, seemingly thinking about what he was going to say. "Alicia told me that a werewolf bite can heal things, like Scott having asthma, or a broken bone. So could it heal things like cancer?"

"I mean, yeah," Stiles said. "We've been lucky enough that we haven't actually had to test it out, but it basically gives you regenerative healing so once you get bitten it heals anything."

"Okay," Ben nodded, thinking.

"What's wrong?" Stiles asked, narrowing his eyes.

He shrugged, taking a deep breath before speaking. "I just…I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to treat all of these sick kids when I know that there's basically a cure. Some of these kids have incurable diseases by medical standards, and here's something that can cure them."

"That's definitely going to be tough," Stiles admitted after a moment. "But you don't want to turn kids. It's so hard to learn control, and it's very dangerous to be a werewolf. Besides, not everyone takes to the bite. People can become a werewolf – or whatever their true form is – or they die."

"The bite kills them?" Ben asked in shock.

Stiles nodded. "Yeah. If your body's not compatible, or if your body's too weak. Depending on how sick the kid is, the bite would just make it quicker."

"That makes it a little bit easier," Ben admitted. "Knowing it's not an end-all be-all cure."

"Yeah," Stiles said. "I don't think anything is."

''''''''''

"Hey, Ben!"

Melissa hugged him, pulling back so she could look at him. "Are you hungry?"

"Always," he said, grinning.

"Dinner's almost ready," she told him. "Make yourself at home. Alicia's not back from shopping yet."

"All right," he nodded. He looked at Stiles, suddenly nervous. "I was actually wondering if you had a minute."

"Yeah, sure," Stiles said.

He led Ben to the patio, ignoring the look his dad and Melissa shared.

"What's up?" he asked once the door was closed. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Ben assured him. "I just wanted to ask you something, and I didn't want it to be in front of everybody."

"Okay…" he nodded, wary. "What's the question?"

"I want to propose to Alicia," Ben spit out, obviously wanting to get it out before he lost his nerve. "We've been together for a while now, and I love her and want to spend the rest of my life with her. I thought that maybe I could do it on her birthday, thought it would be romantic, you know? But I wanted your blessing first. I know you guys don't necessarily follow tradition when it comes to dating and stuff, but I need to know that you're okay with it."

Stiles stood there for a moment, thinking. Was he okay with it? Ben had definitely grown on him in the year or so that he's known him. But was Stiles okay with him being his son-in-law?

He thought about how much Alicia loved Ben. Hell, she had said she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him a year ago. They had grown over the past year, pushing each other and making each other better. Plus, Ben had accepted the life of the supernatural that she was born into with almost no question. He had accepted that because Alicia was a part of it, he was a part of it, and Stiles admired him for that.

"Yeah," Stiles told him. "I'm okay with it."

''''''''''

"And he just asked you?" Lydia asked, surprised. She took off her earrings and set them on the vanity.

"Yeah," he said. "He wanted to make sure that I was okay with it."

"Well what about me?" she asked. "I need to be okay with it, too."

"Considering you treated him like a part of the family basically since you met him, I pretty sure he knew it was safe with you," Stiles teased her.

"True," she agreed. "But it's the principle. I'm her parent, too."

"That's why I'm asking for him," Stiles told her. "He wanted to ask you, too, but you were out shopping with Alicia and he didn't want to do it while she was here and raise suspicion."

"Oh, that makes sense," she said. "I'm guessing he wants to make it as romantic as possible?"

"I didn't ask for details," he admitted. "He just told me that he was thinking about doing it on her birthday, and that he wanted to surprise her."

"That's actually really sweet," she said, crossing over to the bathroom to brush her teeth. "But you realize something, right?"

"What?" he asked from the bedroom.

"Now we're going to have to pay for a wedding."

She heard him groan, and she knew that he had just fallen dramatically on the bed. "How much do weddings cost these days?"

"Honey, you don't wanna know."

''''''''''

Stiles flipped the burgers on the grill, waiting for the signal from Ben. Nobody knew but Ben, Lydia, and Stiles that he was going to propose. Everyone else thought that it was just a normal birthday party for Alicia – including Alicia.

It was almost scary how casual Ben was acting. Like it was just a normal day, and he wasn't going to ask his girlfriend to marry him.

"Stiles, what's going on?" Scott asked, eyeing him curiously.

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked, looking at his best friend innocently.

"Why are you watching Ben so intently?" he asked, concerned. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Stiles told him. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because you're acting weird?" Scott said.

"Weirder than usual, anyway," Derek added.

"Thanks," he said, sending a half-hearted glare Derek's way. "No, everything's fine, I promise."

"Can I have everyone's attention?" Ben called out, taking Alicia's hand and leading her to the yard.

Scott looked at Stiles suspiciously. "Is he doing what I think he's doing?"

Stiles simply shrugged, taking a drink of his beer.

"I'd like to make a toast," Ben continued. Everybody quieted down, and he started his speech. "When I met Alicia, it was the first day of Bio 1, and I couldn't focus on the professor because I made the mistake of sitting behind an absolutely beautiful girl and couldn't take my eyes off of the back of her head. It took me a good two weeks to talk to her, and it was under the excuse that I needed notes, seeing as I didn't really take any because I was too busy trying to get the nerve to talk to her. She probably thought I was just some stupid guy who was too lazy to take his own notes, but she helped me out anyway. She even offered to tutor me, which I immediately took her up on. The rest is history, I guess."

He took a deep breath, turning to Alicia and taking her hand. "But that's not the point of this speech. The point of this speech, is that in the time that I've spend with you and your family – your pack – I've realized that I've found the person that I want to spend the rest of my life with. And I know how much you love these people, and how close you all are, so I wanted to make sure that they were a part of this.

"Alicia," he continued, getting down on one knee in classic proposal fashion. There were several audible gasps, and Scott grabbed Stiles' shoulder. "Alicia Lorraine Stilinski, if you will have me, I want to spend the rest of my life with you as your husband. Will you marry me?"

Alicia stood there in shock, her mouth hanging open as he pulled out a small box and opened it, revealing the ring. She didn't say anything, looking between Ben and the ring he was holding.

"Alicia?" he asked gently. "Is that a yes or a no?"

"Oh, oh my God!" she said, shaking herself out of it. "Yes! Of course! Of course I want to marry you!"

Everyone cheered as he put the ring on her finger, and she pulled him into a kiss.

"You totally knew, didn't you?" Scott asked as people congratulated the couple.

"I might have," Stiles shrugged. Scott looked at him, waiting for the real answer. "He asked for my blessing and I said yes."

"Good for him," Derek said, nodding in approvval. "Now if you excuse me, I need to give him a hard time."

He made his way over to the couple, and Stiles couldn't help but laugh.

After everything they had been through, it sometimes still surprised him that they could have nice things. But honestly, in that moment, watching how happy his daughter was with a good man that loved her…

He kind of felt like the luckiest guy in the world.


End file.
